Honoring Veterans: PRSA and the Military

On this Veterans Day, PRSA pays tribute to the men and women of the United States military and their families, thanking them for the noble sacrifices they have made and will continue to make in service to our country and way of life. Both as Americans and as public relations professionals, we value and appreciate the vital role the military plays in protecting the core freedoms we hold so dear — especially freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition — and in upholding the values that guide us, which include honesty, transparency and the free flow of accurate and truthful information.

With that in mind, we take a brief respite from our regular PRSAY posts in lieu of a collection of previous commentary relating to public relations and public affairs in the military. We hope you enjoy the content, and encourage you to offer a word of thanks to each and every member of the military you come in contact with throughout the year.

On Feb. 26, 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reversed an 18-year policy that prohibited media access to “dignified transfers,” the process of transporting slain service members’ remains from combat zones to the military’s mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Commissioned to facilitate this solemn process, the Air Force’s public affairs and mortuary affairs corps created a family focused media relations program that has honored more than 600 fallen soldiers since the change in policy. At the same time, their program has offered the media a view into the human price of war.

Their efforts were noticed from the war room to the pressroom. For excellence in strategic yet sympathetic public relations, the Honorable Erin C. Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force, accepted PRSA’s Best of Silver Anvil Awardon behalf of the Department of Defense at the Silver Anvil Awards Ceremony on June 3 in New York City.

PRSA honors the inauguralgroup of public affairs professionals has achieved the Accreditation in Public Relations + Military Communication (APR+M) certification. Those professionals who earned their APR+M certification are:

The new APR+M credential provides an important new tool for military public affairs professionals to both develop their skills and demonstrate high proficiency in military communications activities. However, it transcends those benefits. The APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) is the oldest, most recognized communications credential — valued by public, private and government sectors in the selection of trusted counsel to organizational leaders. Accreditation is not only recognized by military PA leaders, but it can be helpful to those who may want to pursue a public relations career after leaving active duty and for Reserve or National Guard military public affairs personnel trying to advance their civilian careers.

When I prepared for an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2006, I quickly realized that the process was about more than a test. The process allowed me to both reflect on the highlights of my career to date and refocus on the principles of what it takes to be an excellent, ethical practitioner.

So I really don’t know why I thought that when I went through the process to transition from an APR to the newly created military-specialty APR+M that the experience would only be like a test.